A Promising Start (a McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by sammy1026
Summary: A Saturday call to a crime scene sends things in an unexpected new direction.


_Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more._

_REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best._

_There are three of our previous stories referenced in this one. Worth Every Penny, Commander Steve Goes to Fourth Grade, and Making Friends at the Library._

* * *

**A Promising Start (1/1)**

"For a while there I was worried this big remodel of yours wasn't gonna be done in time for Thanksgiving," Danny said as he and Steve moved the final piece of furniture into place in the new bedroom that would one day belong to their next child. "I thought I might have to put some of your guests up at our place."

The renovation on the beach house that added two new bedrooms upstairs, including a large guest room with an en suite bathroom, and a spacious guest room on the ground floor which would double as a respite for any guest, young or old, who needed a break or a short nap, had been officially labeled complete the previous day when the last of the trim work was finally stained and put in place.

Plans for the expansion changed several times over the course of the build but both Steve and Catherine were thrilled with the final product. The initial plan had been to relocate the master bedroom to the other end of the hall, but upon further reflection Steve was uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping anywhere other than at the top of the stairs where he and Catherine would be perfectly positioned in case of an emergency in the middle of the night. It also allowed him to get out of the house without disturbing any sleeping children if he got called in on a case. Catherine quickly agreed with the idea of keeping the master in its current location. She loved their bedroom as it was and the attached bathroom they'd remodeled together and was perfectly happy staying there.

Grace's room had been relocated down the newly added perpendicular hallway affording her a little more privacy now that she was getting older. She and Catherine celebrated her now slightly larger space with a trip to the mall for new bedding and a new lamp for the bedside table.

"You and me both." Steve stood back and surveyed the room's layout. "It was touch and go there for awhile."

"You're both exaggerating. For a project this big finishing five weeks later than expected really isn't too bad," Catherine said as she entered the room carrying a set of dark green linens for the new bed. "Especially since some of the delays were just about waiting for building supplies to arrive from the mainland. I think things went as smoothly as could be expected."

"She's just taking our contractor Keawe's side because every time she asked him to change something he said yes," Steve teased.

Danny snorted. "Good thing she didn't say something looked 'fine' or you would have had to tear the whole thing down to the studs and start again."

"You're never gonna let me forget that backsplash, are you?"

Danny shook his head. "Not anytime soon."

As the partners continued to banter Catherine stared at the room's beige walls and bit her lip.

Steve was, as always, immediately in tune with her discontent. "Something wrong?"

"No." Her eyes moved to the bamboo-colored shade covering the window. "It's just so … plain … in here."

"I thought we agreed to go with neutral everything until this room gets a new inhabitant and then let them decide about the decorating." His eyes sparkled with excitement.

"We did." Catherine smiled at him. "And that's definitely the best idea. I just want to be sure he or she feels comfortable here right from the start."

"He or she will feel more than comfortable, because you'll be here." Steve wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. "And you make everyone comfortable."

"Thank you," Catherine's arms snaked around his neck and she dipped in for another kiss.

"Okay, okay, enough of that," Danny huffed. "Now that you've been officially approved for adoption, as if there was ever any doubt, have given any more thought to what the sex or age of my next niece or nephew will be?"

"We don't want to get too focused on specifics." Steve grabbed the pillow off the bed and put in a pillowcase. "When we meet the child who's meant to become part of our family, we'll know it."

"But you're still thinking older, right?"

"We're leaning that way." Steve grabbed one corner of the sheet and helped Catherine make the bed. "We had a long talk with Aaron's folks about the pros and cons, plus we sat down with the psychologist Estella Longo recommended to talk about how it might affect Angie. She had a lot of good suggestions for the best ways to handle it if that's the way we decide to go. There are some extra things to consider but it's definitely doable."

"Angie always gravitates towards the older kids anyway," Catherine pointed out. "Maybe it's because she hasn't been around that many babies."

Danny laughed. "Or maybe it's because she's thinking of all the things she'll be able to climb up and jump off of once she gets that tall."

"We're staying open to all possibilities," Catherine said. "Our number one priority is making sure the situation works for Angie. We're gonna take our cues from her and when everything is right, we'll know it."

"Knowing you two and your freaky intuition," Danny chuckled, "I'm sure you will.

They finished making the bed and headed downstairs to grab some lunch before Angie got up from her nap. Before they made it to the kitchen Steve's phone rang.

"McGarrett." He answered then listened for a few seconds. "We'll be right there."

* * *

"Sorry to call you in on a Saturday," Duke said as he met Steve and Danny at the end of a long driveway packed with emergency vehicles whose red and blue lights flashed slightly out of rhythm with each other. "This is related to the Fairiborz case, so I figured you'd want to know right away."

Steve dodged two HPD officers carrying large evidence boxes. "What have you got?"

"A neighbor called CWS first thing this morning and said she'd seen a young boy alone in the yard right after dawn. She said she saw the couple who lives here leave two or three days ago and their car hasn't been back since. She assumed the boy was with them until this morning." The three men stepped in through the propped open front door and Duke immediately headed towards the back of the house. "When the CWS worker knocked on the door and didn't get any response she called HPD for assistance and we made entry into the house. That's when we found this." They stepped into a room outfitted as a makeshift meth lab, its walls lined with large containers of chemicals. "There's more." They moved to the next room dominated by several banquet style tables covered with small bags of meth ready for sale and at least a dozen handguns.

Steve lifted one of the weapons and confirmed his suspicion that it was loaded. "There were kids in this house with all this stuff laying around unsecured?"

"One boy," Duke confirmed.

"They should be locked up for life just for that,": Danny growled. "How is this tied to the Fairiborz case?"

"Turns out the owners of this house, Carl and Julia Lennox, were on the list of Fairiborz employees Frank Kaewa provided as part of his plea deal," Duke said. "We pulled their rap sheets. Looks like they relocated here from the mainland about two and a half years ago to work for a company called Longbranch Security."

They stepped out of the way of officers carrying out more boxes of evidence.

"Their CEO was arrested two months later for robbing an armored car his company was supposed to be guarding."

Steve remembered the heist well. "Were these two involved?"

"If they were no one gave them up at the time," Duke said. "But that might be because they had some very powerful connections. Julia's brother and sister-in-law were Seth and Maria McDonald."

Danny's eyebrows knit together. "Why do those names sound familiar?"

"They had a pretty big cocaine distribution network going for about a decade. When we tried to serve a warrant on them they barricaded themselves in their house. We negotiated with them for a full 24 hours, but they decided to go out fighting and ended up dying in a shootout with SWAT," Duke reported.

"So, these two were taking over the family business?" Steve asked.

"Looks like it." The three men headed for the living room. "When word got out that Frank Kaewa was cooperating they must have panicked. We arrested them two nights ago trying to rent a boat to transport a pretty large quantity of drugs off the island. They gave us fake names and it took us until this morning to positively ID them. Apparently, their plan was to take enough merchandise with them to get a start in a new location."

Steve's jaw clenched. "So they took off and left their kid here alone?"

As they entered the living room Steve was surprised to see Estella Longo sitting on the couch beside a clearly shaken young boy who looked to be about six years old.

Something about him looked so familiar.

Steve searched his memory and all at once it hit him.

The little boy he gave a shoe tying lesson to when he and Catherine helped Jacob's class with their life-sized Candyland.

He approached the pair but before addressing Estella he knelt in front of the frightened boy. "Hi, DJ. Do you remember me?"

DJ swiped at his tears and nodded. "From Candyland," he said in a shaky voice.

"That's right. I'm Commander Steve."

Danny smiled at Steve's voluntary use of the nickname he'd been given by Jacob when the youngest Allen child was just about DJ's age.

DJ twisted his hands in his lap. "Hi."

"I know everything going on around here is scary but if you just give us a few minutes we'll figure things out and get you somewhere safe." Steve purposely kept his tone light. "Is it ok with you if I talk to Ms. Longo for a minute?"

DJ nodded.

Estella stood up and she, Steve and Danny moved a few feet away to talk while Duke went to check on the evidence collection.

"I didn't know you handled cases in the field," Steve said once he was sure they were out of DJ's earshot.

"Generally, I don't," Estella replied. "We're a little short-handed this month between vacations and maternity leaves so I volunteered to do weekend calls."

Danny smiled. He'd only met the CWS worker a couple of times, but it didn't surprise him at all she'd be the type to offer to pitch in wherever needed. "Duke tells us the neighbor called in a report?"

Estella consulted the folder in her hand. "Yes, but sadly it's not the first time DJ has had contact with CWS. He has a file going back 5 years."

Danny scowled. "So, these scumbags have a habit of just forgetting they have a kid?"

"Carl and Julia Lennox aren't DJ's parents," Estella explained. "They're his guardians. His parents were Julia's brother and sister-in-law."

"The ones who were killed in the police shootout?" Steve looked over his shoulder and gave DJ a reassuring smile.

"Yes." Estella flipped to the next page of the report. "After they died, he was placed with his maternal grandmother. It wasn't a perfect situation, but it was far more stable than anything he'd had with his parents. He enrolled in school. The home visits all showed he was clean and well taken care of. But they also noted a distinct lack of affection on the part of his grandmother. She seemed to be in it mostly for the monthly check."

Steve and Danny shared a look of disgust.

"She died unexpectedly six months ago and DJ was placed with his aunt and uncle since they were his last living relatives."

"How does something like that even happen?" Danny asked disgustedly. "These people were clearly criminals. Who would put an innocent little boy in a situation like this?"

Estella's expression grew tense. She knew the answer was going to anger the two devoted fathers but there was no way to sugarcoat it. "His previous caseworker was let go three weeks ago. Turns out she had been accepting cash bribes to look the other way in some of her cases. We've been working hard to determine which of the children she placed might have been compromised but she had a heavy caseload. No one had gotten to this case yet."

"Unbelievable," Steve spat out.

"I agree," Estella said. "It's an unforgivable breach of trust. She claimed in her report to have done background checks and a home visit and everything looked fine"

"Except for the meth lab in the spare room," Steve ground out. "How long was he here alone?"

"Hard to say," Estella sighed. "The neighbor said the last time she saw any adults in the house it was two days ago, maybe three. I asked DJ but he isn't sure."

Steve exhaled heavily. "Does he go to school?"

Estella checked the file. "He did last year but this year Julia Lennox claimed she would be homeschooling him."

Steve moved back towards DJ and knelt in front of him once again. "Are you hungry? When was the last time you had something to eat?"

DJ's eyes grew wide. "I didn't touch the food in the kitchen. I know I'm not supposed to. That's for Aunt Julia and Uncle Carl."

Steve squeezed DJ's knee then stood up. "I'll be right back. You wait here."

Less than a minute later Steve reappeared carrying a large Ziploc-style bag that he had retrieved from the go bag he kept in Danny's trunk as well as two bottles of cold water provided by the ambulance crew on site.

"Here we go." He took a seat beside DJ and looked up as Estella. "Does he have any allergies?"

She consulted his file. "No."

"Ok then, do you like protein bars?" he asked DJ.

"I never had one," the young boy said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Steve pulled out 2 bars. "Which do you like better, mango or peanut butter?"

"Peanut butter," DJ replied eagerly.

Steve tore the wrapper and handed him the protein bar then twisted the top off a bottle of water.

DJ took the bar and looked at it uncertainly.

"Go ahead," Steve said with an encouraging tone.

DJ took one bite and his eyes lit up.

Steve smiled. "Good?"

DJ nodded his head and took another larger bite.

Steve opened a second protein bar and placed it on the table along with the bottle of water. "Those are yours," he told DJ. "You go ahead and eat while I talk to Ms. Longo some more."

DJ's eyes tracked Steve as he once again moved a few feet away.

Steve watched as the young boy practically inhaled the protein bar. "What's going to happen to him now? Where will he go?" he asked. "You said there are no other living relatives?"

"None," Estella said. "And we have a shortage of foster parents right now. We're signing up new families every day, but we can't place a child with them until they pass all the background checks and the home visit. At present children are waiting 6-8 weeks for a family placement. Until then he'll stay in one of our group homes."

Steve winced. "Over the holidays?"

"It's definitely not ideal," Estella agreed. "But our staff is very dedicated, and they do the best they can."

"I'm sure they do." Steve looked over his shoulder at DJ who waved shyly. "It's just … he's already been through so much." Steve thought for just a minute then his eyes lit up. "I have an idea. Do me a favor and stay right here for a little while longer please Don't go anywhere or make any decisions."

Estella smiled indulgently. Whatever Steve had in mind she was sure it would be in DJ's best interest. "I can wait a little longer," she agreed.

"Great." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Cath. Hi. Can you get your folks to stay with Angie and come down here to the crime scene? Everything is ok I just … I'll explain when you get here." He listened for a few seconds. "Great. I'll text you the address."

* * *

Danny was just finishing up a phone call outside as Catherine approached the front door.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Readers Digest version. Two idiots running a drug business out of their house. Tied in with Fairiborz. When he went down, they freaked out. Got arrested trying to skip town. Never mentioned their 6-year-old nephew who lived with them was home alone. He's been here for at least two days by himself."

They entered the house and Catherine's heart immediately melted. Steve was standing on the other side of the room talking to the DEA agent who had arrived to help dismantle the meth lab. Right by his side, arms wrapped around Steve's thigh, was a dark-haired little boy with big brown eyes. Catherine recognized him immediately as the quiet young boy she and Angie had met at the library. He'd been so sweet to let Angie hand him LEGO blocks to help build his boat.

While Steve was finishing up with the DEA Danny and Estella caught Catherine up on what was happening. As they talked her eyes kept drifting back to Steve and DJ. The young boy clung to Steve's leg while Steve's hand rested reassuringly on his back.

Fifteen minutes later Steve wrapped up and he and DJ headed towards Catherine.

"Hi." Catherine smiled brightly as she knelt down to DJ's eye level. "Do you remember me? We met at the library. You let my daughter Angie help you build a LEGO boat."

DJ thought for just a minute then his eyes lit up and he nodded.

"My name is Lieutenant Catherine." She smiled.

DJ reached out and touched the ends of her hair hanging over her shoulder. "I like your hair."

"Thank you." She looked at Steve and in just a few seconds of eye contact they had an entire silent conversation.

They both smiled softly.

Estella whispered to Danny, "I'm not sure exactly what's happening here."

Danny smiled at her before replying, "Magic."

Catherine stood up and turned to Estella. "What would Steve and I have to do to get appointed DJ's foster parents?"

Estella couldn't say she was completely surprised by the request. "There's a process," she said. "The first thing you have to do is fill out an application."

"Is the approval process more rigorous than the one for adoption?" Catherine asked.

"Which we already passed," Steve pointed out.

"Not more rigorous," Estella said, "Just slightly different."

Steve was in mission mode. "What would be the best way for us to make it happen?"

Estella had no doubt Steve and Catherine would be excellent foster parents. But still she felt the need to caution them. "DJ may end up eligible for adoption at some point but there's no way I can guarantee that. There are guidelines that need to be followed …"

"We understand that," Catherine assured her. "We're not thinking that far ahead right now. All that matters at this point is getting DJ somewhere he can feel safe and be part of a loving group of people with his best interests at heart."

Estella smiled. "Well, I can certainly put in my recommendation and vouch for your qualifications, but I don't make the final decision," she said then nodded at Catherine. "The best bet would probably be to have your boss call my boss."

Catherine pulled out her phone. "Consider it done." She scrolled her contacts until she found Lea's private line. She dialed and waited for the call to connect. "Lea. Hi. I'm sorry to call you on a Saturday but I need a favor."

"_Name it."_

Catherine smiled. "I need you to make a phone call."

Thirty minutes later an intern from Estella's office arrived with the necessary paperwork and fifteen minutes after that it was official.

Steve and Catherine were DJ's foster parents.

"You're gonna come home with Lieutenant Catherine and me until we figure out the best place for you to live," Steve explained to DJ. "Does that sound good?"

DJ produced his first real smile of the day as he nodded his head emphatically. "I'll be good. I promise."

* * *

As Estella and Catherine looked around the room DJ had identified as his they shook their heads. There were a few items of clothing, a tattered teddy bear, and a few toys. No books. No color. Nothing to excite a child's imagination.

Estella packed DJ's possession in a canvas tote while Catherine pulled out her phone and dialed her mother.

"I need you to do us a favor," she said with no preamble.

"_What is it, honey. Is everything ok?"_

"Everything is fine. I'll explain later, but the important thing is that Steve and I will be home in a bit with a little boy that we've decided to foster while his living situation gets straightened out."

"_Honey, that's … surprising … but wonderful. What can we do to help?"_

"We're headed to the hospital now to get him checked out. He was alone in the house for at least two days, so we want to be sure he's okay. I was hoping you could run to the mall and grab a few things to get us through the next couple of days. Some clothes, a few toys, and definitely some books. Things that would appeal to an average six-year-old boy. Once things are a little more settled we can figure out what he likes but for now just some things to make him feel a little more comfortable."

"_I'm on it."_

Catherine could hear the determination in her mother's voice. "Thanks, Mom. We'll see you soon."

"_Let us know if you need anything else."_

"We will. I promise."

* * *

Ninety minutes later Steve, Catherine and DJ arrived home. They were barely through the front door when Angie came barreling towards them, Cammie close on her heels.

"DADDY!" she squealed as she flung herself into his arms.

He lifted her over his head then lowered her down and smothered her face in kisses. "There's my girl."

Angie giggled then held out her hands to her mother. "MOMMY!"

Catherine wrapped her in a tight hug. "Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?"

Angie's curls bounced as she shook her head yes then she squirmed to get down. Once on floor level she noticed DJ for the first time. He was standing quietly, half hidden behind Steve's legs.

Angie tilted her head and smiled at him. "Hi!" She waved enthusiastically.

"Hi." He waved back a little uncertainly.

"Angie, this is DJ," Catherine said. "He's gonna be staying with us for a while."

Angie could not put words to the emotions she felt radiating off DJ, but she didn't have to. She understood them on an unspoken level.

She moved forward slowly and took his hand.

"Dis Cam-mie," she said as her faithful canine companion moved in and after assessing the situation covered DJ's cheek with puppy kisses eliciting smiles from everyone, including DJ. Once Cammie stepped back Angie tugged DJ's hand and led him across the room. "Gwan-ma and Gwan-pa," she announced with a sweeping arm gesture.

Catherine and Steve smiled proudly at their daughter as she did everything she knew how to do at two years old to make a newcomer feel welcome, introducing him to her favorite things.

"Cookies?" she asked her grandmother hopefully

"After dinner." Elizabeth smiled. "Right now we have some yummy chicken and French fries to eat."

DJ's smile faltered and he took a few steps back.

"Fow-wow me." Angie turned and headed for the kitchen. After a few steps she sensed DJ wasn't following and turned back.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Steve asked as he crossed the room and squatted down beside DJ.

"Nothing," DJ replied though his expression said just the opposite.

"Let's go have dinner," Steve said in an upbeat tone.

"I'm supposed to wait until the grown ups eat and then if there's anything left over, I can have it," DJ said.

Both Steve and Joseph's jaws tightened and even Elizabeth looked like she was ready to slap whatever adult had ever told a child such a thing. Catherine noticed Angie studying DJ carefully. She smiled reassuringly at her daughter then knelt at DJ's side. "That's not the way we do things here. There's plenty of food and you're welcome to eat as much as you want."

DJ reached out and once again ran his hands through the bottom of her hair. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

"I'm positive." She smiled.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Angie approaching. The toddler reached out and took DJ's hand. "Gwa-ma bah dee dum chicken."

DJ smiled at her.

"Den cook-ies!" she giggled.

Steve dropped his arms across Catherine's shoulders as he watched Angie lead DJ to the dining room. "Our daughter is really something."

Catherine beamed. "You can say that again."

* * *

After dinner was finished Catherine filled her parents in on DJ's back story while Steve sat on the floor in the living room playing blocks with Angie. Ever so slowly DJ, who had been sitting on the couch watching, edged closer. Every so often Angie would look up and smile at him but she seemed to know instinctively not to force the issue.

When DJ finally came to sit next to the pile of blocks she was constructing, Angie handed him two purple ones. "Puh pul," she said happily.

"Those are her favorite color," Steve told DJ. "She only shares those with people she really likes."

DJ beamed at Angie. "Thanks."

* * *

Later that night, after cookies and four bedtime stories, Catherine tucked DJ into bed, under his new bedspread covered in trucks of every shape and size, clutching his threadbare teddy bear, while Steve stood nearby holding Angie who was adamant she wanted to say goodnight to DJ.

As Catherine leaned over to kiss his cheek DJ began to play with her hair nervously. Within a few seconds his bottom lip was quivering.

Catherine turned to look at Steve. This poor young boy who had spent the last two days completely alone, and who knows how many occasions he was by himself before that, was clearly not looking forward to spending his first night in a new environment alone.

As usual it took only seconds for the two of them to use unspoken communication to agree on a plan.

"I have an idea," Steve said. "How about since this is DJ's first night here, just this one time, we blow up some air mattresses and have a camp out in the living room?"

"YAY!" Angie threw her arms in the air, not sure what she was cheering about, but she knew by the look on her daddy's face he was suggesting something fun.

DJ's face brightened. "Would that be ok?" he asked Catherine.

"That would be very ok," she told him.

He looked reverently at his new blanket. "Can I bring this?"

"You can bring anything you want." She smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

Hours later Catherine awoke and peeked over the side of the air mattress to the two smaller mattresses where Angie and DJ were sleeping. Her breath caught in her throat which woke Steve. She shushed him softly and pointed.

At the top of the children's mattresses Cammie was dozing happily in her bed. DJ was asleep on his back with his left arm tossed out to the side, tightly clutching his teddy bear, which rested on the floor between the two mattresses. Angie was stretched out her stomach, her left arm flung outward, clutching her favorite bun which was nestled directly beside DJ's teddy.

"I think things are going well so far," Steve whispered.

Catherine leaned back against him. "A promising start."

**THE END**

* * *

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